Its the 1st of February today and I'm a little behind my original schedule but thanks to finding a solar panel at Alpha Batteries that exactly suited my needs I've managed to gain 2 days back (sorry Sunstore, but you should open at the weekend haha).
I'm now feeling a little fragile on the DFDS ferry to Dieppe, on what they say will be 'a rough crossing'. Oh joy!!! I mean, I'm ok......but what's happening down below? My little home on wheels is down there... I have these crazy mental images of it slipping from side to side, bumping into the wall and the van next to mine. I see me going down in 3 hours to find him bruised and battered with a zero resale value and a sllightly new shape!
Once I'd checked in and driven into the departure area, the 5 lanes brought back memories of May 1995 and the family trip to Dijon, in the car, from Prestwick. Sam was 12 and Kyle was only 5 then... I recall being full of sinus infection and not sleeping. Can you see a theme beginning here? We arrived at our camp site after a monster drive to find unseasonal snow and we were upgraded to a nice small caravan instead of a tent.
When I get to Dieppe this time I'm on my own and can please myself where I go and where I stop for the night. I have an interim destination of Toulouse and my friends place there, but I want to just puddle along getting used to things and enjoy some sight seeing along the way. I think I'll drive for an hour or so and maybe stop in an aire in Nonancourt? See how it goes.
Along the way so far, I've had my faith in human nature restored a little. I think perhaps we get jaded with other people and wander sometimes if there are any good people still around, or has everyone become obsessed with social media, making shit loads of money, grabbing fame and fortune as fast as possible, and not caring about who they fuck over along the way? I know, I'm as guilty as anyone with social media, it does have its uses and can be great for keeping in touch. I'm posting these very words on Facebook....
Hypocrisy. I hate it. I saw so much of it as a child, all around me people of religion proclaiming this and that while doing something totally different (don't get me started on religion...), so I'm not going to moan about social media. No, I just don't have any time for the X-factor generation.
Anyway. Good people. I've met some. In particular the guys at Autogas 2000, Chris and especially John. They fitted my spanking new refillable gas bottle in quick time, and then spent 4 times as long helping (actually doing...I was helping them) to sort out the electrical problem that had developed on the drive south. A wiring issue at the rear lights. They were amazing, and John spent loads of time cheerfully fixing the wiring while I ran around pushing the brake pedal and turning the lights on and off. Proper stars, and I would highly recommend them! A quick mention for John at GP Auto Electrical, Coatbridge, Glasgow too. A really nice guy, one of those you know you'll like the second you start to chat... He fixed my draining engine battery and sorted a small problem with the leisure battery too that had been caused when the local motorhome 'specialist' tried to fix the original problem and created another before giving up! Nice. Everything seems to be working fine now (touches wood...) so its onwards with faith restored to new adventures and sexy French villages and towns. Come on the cheese and wine....oh, and maybe some crags and climbing too.
Thats if the van survives!!
DFDS!!!
Loches.
The van survived ok... Miraculous!
I was pretty much first off the ferry and I got going as fast as my little van could carry me in case I lost my bottle and followed the first camper van I could keep up with to some mystery destination! Last time, in 95, I recall coming of the ferry in the middle of the night and getting instantly lost before managing to get to our 'Formula one' motel. This time, 20 years on and technology means that my mate Tom Tom told me exactly where to go and even reminded me to 'Drive on the Right'. Fantastic :) This one even has the camper stops in it... So no fuck ups then..... We'll see !!!
Actually, it all went well. Very well. A little rain made the French roads a bit greasy ( almost witnessed a crash within an hour... must have literally just happened) but the left hand drive made the whole thing so much more natural and instinctive. A good decision. I stuck a pin in the map for somewhere to stay roughly on the sat navs route (non paege!!), and it said Nonancourt. So me and the sat nav got there. First time!! I shared the Aire with 3 other vans and felt safe and slept pretty well. I wandered down into the town for a walk and to have a look around. The French do window shutters and cakey bread shops really well. And they do love motorhomes. The sites they provide are often free, often in lovely places and usually with water and waste dumps, and some even have electric. All are much cheaper than camp sites or completely free, and as I found out on Monday when I drove into Chateaudun, many are in lovely places.
I did some domestics in the van in the chilly but sunny morning and set off for Loches (another random choice. I like these no pressure decisions). Another 4 hour drive on pleasant roads, and today in glorious warm sunshine. I topped up with water (e2) in Chateaudun, had a nice sign language and pigeon French chat with another chap that had a (massive...) moterhome before getting to Loches. Here I had my first hiccup when I didn't re-he-heally believe the sat nav.....know what I mean? Instinct said NO!!!! Surely I can't take a baby monster van up this cobbled pedestrian shopping area!!!! Fat vans... relaxed on big roads, stressy in towns! I was right for once and after a little period of self doubt I found the van park. I didn't really like this one much, gut feeling, so I dialed in another one across town and went there instead. Much better.
I strolled around Loches for a while and began to notice a distinct smell... a sort of sweet detergenty smell...? It was incredibly clean hahaha.
The large Chateau dominates the old town, and the streets are wonderfully narrow and cobbled, but fuck me this place was deader than a thing that's newly deceased! Not exactly jumping. I went out again after dinner to see if had livened up any but no, still dead! Don't really know what I was expecting it to be like, how much life should there be on these chilly winter days... But nobody was about and the shops were all shut. Maybe they new I was coming ?
Clearly Loches is an historic gem, an architectural tourist attraction that, in the warm summer sun would be a pleasant place to visit. There's a river running right through the town too, flowing under low bridges and the tourist office and several other buildings as it slowly drifts through town. Very picturesque!
The phone. Its great in France, as a Three customer I get to use it as I do in the UK. But can I find wifi?
No I bleedin can't. I can see me dialling McDonald's into the sat nav, just for a coffee and wifi you understand.... So that explains why you get 3 blogs all at once :)
Tuesday ? Well I figured I'd put in my friend Daves address just south of Toulouse and wing it. Its 505km south of here and avoiding tolls, sorry, I mean seeing rural France rather than motorways, will make it a long day again. I see on the camperstop map loads of places to sleep to the east a little so I plan to just go and see how far I get before I feel the need to stop. I must change the batteries over too, that should be fun and kill a couple of hours easily. The right hand seat has to come out!!!
I'm now half way through my second vin rouge de pays and its beginning to make an impact.... Hic.
Something else I noticed today while driving... The Loire is HUGE! And this bit of Central France is pretty flat.
Nonancourt
I'm now feeling a little fragile on the DFDS ferry to Dieppe, on what they say will be 'a rough crossing'. Oh joy!!! I mean, I'm ok......but what's happening down below? My little home on wheels is down there... I have these crazy mental images of it slipping from side to side, bumping into the wall and the van next to mine. I see me going down in 3 hours to find him bruised and battered with a zero resale value and a sllightly new shape!
Once I'd checked in and driven into the departure area, the 5 lanes brought back memories of May 1995 and the family trip to Dijon, in the car, from Prestwick. Sam was 12 and Kyle was only 5 then... I recall being full of sinus infection and not sleeping. Can you see a theme beginning here? We arrived at our camp site after a monster drive to find unseasonal snow and we were upgraded to a nice small caravan instead of a tent.
When I get to Dieppe this time I'm on my own and can please myself where I go and where I stop for the night. I have an interim destination of Toulouse and my friends place there, but I want to just puddle along getting used to things and enjoy some sight seeing along the way. I think I'll drive for an hour or so and maybe stop in an aire in Nonancourt? See how it goes.
Along the way so far, I've had my faith in human nature restored a little. I think perhaps we get jaded with other people and wander sometimes if there are any good people still around, or has everyone become obsessed with social media, making shit loads of money, grabbing fame and fortune as fast as possible, and not caring about who they fuck over along the way? I know, I'm as guilty as anyone with social media, it does have its uses and can be great for keeping in touch. I'm posting these very words on Facebook....
Hypocrisy. I hate it. I saw so much of it as a child, all around me people of religion proclaiming this and that while doing something totally different (don't get me started on religion...), so I'm not going to moan about social media. No, I just don't have any time for the X-factor generation.
Anyway. Good people. I've met some. In particular the guys at Autogas 2000, Chris and especially John. They fitted my spanking new refillable gas bottle in quick time, and then spent 4 times as long helping (actually doing...I was helping them) to sort out the electrical problem that had developed on the drive south. A wiring issue at the rear lights. They were amazing, and John spent loads of time cheerfully fixing the wiring while I ran around pushing the brake pedal and turning the lights on and off. Proper stars, and I would highly recommend them! A quick mention for John at GP Auto Electrical, Coatbridge, Glasgow too. A really nice guy, one of those you know you'll like the second you start to chat... He fixed my draining engine battery and sorted a small problem with the leisure battery too that had been caused when the local motorhome 'specialist' tried to fix the original problem and created another before giving up! Nice. Everything seems to be working fine now (touches wood...) so its onwards with faith restored to new adventures and sexy French villages and towns. Come on the cheese and wine....oh, and maybe some crags and climbing too.
Thats if the van survives!!
Chateaudun
Loches.
The van survived ok... Miraculous!
I was pretty much first off the ferry and I got going as fast as my little van could carry me in case I lost my bottle and followed the first camper van I could keep up with to some mystery destination! Last time, in 95, I recall coming of the ferry in the middle of the night and getting instantly lost before managing to get to our 'Formula one' motel. This time, 20 years on and technology means that my mate Tom Tom told me exactly where to go and even reminded me to 'Drive on the Right'. Fantastic :) This one even has the camper stops in it... So no fuck ups then..... We'll see !!!
Actually, it all went well. Very well. A little rain made the French roads a bit greasy ( almost witnessed a crash within an hour... must have literally just happened) but the left hand drive made the whole thing so much more natural and instinctive. A good decision. I stuck a pin in the map for somewhere to stay roughly on the sat navs route (non paege!!), and it said Nonancourt. So me and the sat nav got there. First time!! I shared the Aire with 3 other vans and felt safe and slept pretty well. I wandered down into the town for a walk and to have a look around. The French do window shutters and cakey bread shops really well. And they do love motorhomes. The sites they provide are often free, often in lovely places and usually with water and waste dumps, and some even have electric. All are much cheaper than camp sites or completely free, and as I found out on Monday when I drove into Chateaudun, many are in lovely places.
I did some domestics in the van in the chilly but sunny morning and set off for Loches (another random choice. I like these no pressure decisions). Another 4 hour drive on pleasant roads, and today in glorious warm sunshine. I topped up with water (e2) in Chateaudun, had a nice sign language and pigeon French chat with another chap that had a (massive...) moterhome before getting to Loches. Here I had my first hiccup when I didn't re-he-heally believe the sat nav.....know what I mean? Instinct said NO!!!! Surely I can't take a baby monster van up this cobbled pedestrian shopping area!!!! Fat vans... relaxed on big roads, stressy in towns! I was right for once and after a little period of self doubt I found the van park. I didn't really like this one much, gut feeling, so I dialed in another one across town and went there instead. Much better.
I strolled around Loches for a while and began to notice a distinct smell... a sort of sweet detergenty smell...? It was incredibly clean hahaha.
The large Chateau dominates the old town, and the streets are wonderfully narrow and cobbled, but fuck me this place was deader than a thing that's newly deceased! Not exactly jumping. I went out again after dinner to see if had livened up any but no, still dead! Don't really know what I was expecting it to be like, how much life should there be on these chilly winter days... But nobody was about and the shops were all shut. Maybe they new I was coming ?
Clearly Loches is an historic gem, an architectural tourist attraction that, in the warm summer sun would be a pleasant place to visit. There's a river running right through the town too, flowing under low bridges and the tourist office and several other buildings as it slowly drifts through town. Very picturesque!
The phone. Its great in France, as a Three customer I get to use it as I do in the UK. But can I find wifi?
No I bleedin can't. I can see me dialling McDonald's into the sat nav, just for a coffee and wifi you understand.... So that explains why you get 3 blogs all at once :)
Tuesday ? Well I figured I'd put in my friend Daves address just south of Toulouse and wing it. Its 505km south of here and avoiding tolls, sorry, I mean seeing rural France rather than motorways, will make it a long day again. I see on the camperstop map loads of places to sleep to the east a little so I plan to just go and see how far I get before I feel the need to stop. I must change the batteries over too, that should be fun and kill a couple of hours easily. The right hand seat has to come out!!!
I'm now half way through my second vin rouge de pays and its beginning to make an impact.... Hic.
Something else I noticed today while driving... The Loire is HUGE! And this bit of Central France is pretty flat.
Loches
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